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Greening our Operation

It is important to us to develop new and innovative ways to save energy and be careful about what we consume as a business. We are well aware that our stewardship of the natural environment is directly related to the sucess of our business and the health of our community.

Of course, we have tried our best to do the "right thing" when it comes to taking care of our recyclables - even though we are based in areas where we are not priveleged to have curbside recycling services. Thats the easy part. We reuse paper whenever possible and stock our office with recycled paper, always trying to make the best choices when it comes to stuff we have to buy. Of course, our brochure is printed on recycled paper. That's a no-brainer!

This year, we have a few new efforts that we are excited about. We have ordered organic t-shirts for our gifty shops - thankfully our providers are getting smart about this trend and we think our clients will appreciate the choice. Just a few reasons we like to offer organic shirts :
Because conventionally grown cotton uses a whopping 25% of the world’s pesticides, even though cotton is only 3% of the world’s crops!
Because seven of the top 15 pesticides used on U.S. cotton crops in 2000 are classified by the EPA as known human carcinogens. And all but one cause birth defects.
Because while it takes one pound of cotton to make one t-shirt, it takes 1/3 pound of pesticides to grow the cotton.

We are also concerned about energy use - as most of our power in Montana is hydro-electric, we are looking forward to weaning ourselves off the grid. Since Gardiner is so baking hot and sunny in the summer, we are installing solar panels on our staff housing to take care of staff energy uses. If it goes well, we look forward to getting more of 'em!

Currently, we get all our full day food at a locally owned grocery store. We are very excited to learn about opportunities to buy organic veggies directly from local farmers - yum!

Of course, one of our concerns is gas consumption in our vehicles. We keep our vans and buses in top condition - always looking to upgrade to better fuel efficiency. When alternative fuels become feasible, we look forward to getting with that program!

In general, we are concerned about the environmental quality of our area and are involved with local environmental organizations to combat pollution and abuse of our rivers and their tributaries. It's an ongoing process!